Principal Investigator_H.Taniguchi

Role of post-translational modifications in stem cell regulation

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Hideki Taniguchi
Professor, Regenerative Medicine
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Our Aim

By revealing epigenetic changes in the process of cancer stem cell development, we aim to identify biomarkers for predicting the prognosis of cancer and to identify target molecules for the development of novel therapeutic agents of cancer.

Background

It has become increasingly clear that in the process of cancer stem cell development, epigenetic changes occur within the genome, in addition to multi-step mutations. It is also suggested that epigenetic modifications are involved in the development of secondary cancer stem cells from primary cancer stem cells, which is of relevance to cancer metastasis. As such, analysis of the post-translational modifications of epigenetics is of importance to the development of prognosis techniques and new drugs.

Research Overview

Epigenetic changes, primarily in histone modification status, are analyzed in human cancer specimens and a carcinogenesis mouse model using comprehensive and accurate techniques developed by the research team. We aim to clarify which epigenetic modifications show a high correlation with the developmental process of cancer stem cells.

Achievements

We have succeeded to identify cancer stem cells in gastric cancers using samples from more than 300 patients and the carcinogenesis mouse model. Further, we have developed a very sensitive histone modification analysis method, designed to analyze modifications in cancer stem cells only present in tiny amounts in the tumor tissue. Tissue stem cell self-renewal is widely believed to be closely related to cancer development, and our analysis of the mechanisms of tissue stem cells has revealed that the Polycomb group gene Ring1B is essential for the self-renewal of hepatic stem cells.

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